Daily Prelims Notes 8 September 2020

September 8, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Table Of Contents

Subject: Schemes

Context:

24×7 Toll-Free Mental Health Rehabilitation Helpline “KIRAN” (1800-500-0019) was launched by Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment through virtual mode to provide relief and support to persons with Mental Illness.

Concept:

Kiran Helpline will offer mental health rehabilitation services with the objective of early screening, first-aid, psychological support, distress management, mental wellbeing, promoting positive behaviours, psychological crisis management etc.
It aims at serving people experiencing stress, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, adjustment disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, pandemic induced psychological issues & mental health emergencies.
It will function as a lifeline to provide 1st stage advice, counseling and reference in 13 languages to individuals, families, NGOs, Parent Associations, Professional Associations, Rehabilitation Institutes, Hospitals or anyone in need of support across the country.
The Helpline is being coordinated by the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (NIEPMD), Chennai and National Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation (NIMHR), Sehore.
Professional support for the Helpline is being provided by the IndianAssociation of Clinical Psychologists (IACP), Indian PsychiatristsAssociation (IPA) and Indian Psychiatric Social Workers Association(IPSWA).

2. K.V. Kamath committee

Subject: Economy

Context:

The KV Kamath committee has selected 26 sectors which will require restructuring based on its analyses of financial parameters hit due to the economic crash caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Concept:

The RBI had formed a five member committee under the chairmanship of former ICICI Bank Chief Executive KV Kamath to make recommendations on the financial parameters to be considered in the restructuring of loans impacted by the Covid 19 pandemic.
The committee will also scrutinize restructuring of loans above Rs 1500 crore. The term of the committee has been extended till June 30 2021.
It recommended a graded approach to restructuring of stressed accounts based on severity of the impact on the borrowers.
The committee has allowed banks to classify the accounts into mild, moderate and severe.
In line with the mandate given by the RBI, Kamath committee has identified four financial parameters including total outside liabilities to adjusted tangible networth, total debt to EBITDA, debt service coverage ratio (DSCR), average debt service coverage ratio (ADSCR).
The committee has recommended sector-specific thresholds for each ratio in respect of 26 sectors to be taken into account while finalizing the resolution plans.
In its report the five member committee said power, construction, iron and steel, roads, real estate, wholesale trading, textiles, consumer durables, aviation, logistics, hotels, restaurants and tourism, mining are among the sectors that will need restructuring

3. International Literacy Day

Subject: IR

Context:

Union Home Minister greeted the nation on International Literacy Day celebrated on September 8.

Concept:

Since 1967, International Literacy Day (ILD) celebrations have taken place annually around the world to remind the public of the importance of literacy as a matter of dignity and human rights, and to advance the literacy agenda towards a more literate and sustainable society.
Despite progress made, literacy challenges persist with at least 773 million adults worldwide lacking basic literacy skills today.
International Literacy Day (ILD) 2020 will focus on “Literacy teaching and learning in the COVID-19 crisis and beyond”with a focus on the role of educators and changing pedagogies.
The theme will highlight literacy learning in a lifelong learning perspective and therefore mainly focus on youth and adults.

4. World Solar Technology Summit

Subject: IR

Context:

World Solar Technology Summit (WSTS) is going to be organized by the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

Concept:

The objective of the event is to bring the spotlight on state-of-the-art technologies as well as next-generation technologies which will provide impetus to the efforts towards harnessing the solar energy more efficiently.
The event will hold four technical sessions that would be available to the participants in different languages namely English, Spanish, French & Arabic.
Leading companies and research organisations from across the world will present their work during these sessions and will deliberate on latest trends in solar technologies.
- Vision 2030 & Beyond: The overall context of Photo Voltaic technology development and its future, on its way towards becoming the first source of energy worldwide, with PV technologies supplying 70% of the world’s electricity generation.
- Towards a Decarbonised Grid: The most recent advances (conversion efficiency improvements and declining costs) regarding key components such as PV modules and storage technologies.
- Disruptive Solar Technologies: On-grid applications, whether ground-mounted, floating, or integrated in residential and commercial rooftops.
- Solar Beyond the Power Sector: Innovative applications where PV is used to move, heat, cool, and drive eco-friendly industrial processes and produce fuels as well as off-grid applications, to provide universal access to energy.

International Solar Alliance

The ISA, an action-oriented organization, aims at lowering the cost of technology and finance and thereby facilitate deployment of over 1,000 GW of solar energy and mobilize more than USD 1,000 billion into solar power by 2030 in Member countries.
The ISA envisions to enable the full ecosystem for availability and development of technology, economic resources, and development of storage technology, mass manufacturing and innovation. The reduced cost of technology would enable the undertaking of more ambitious solar energy programmes.
The ISA has 67 countries and has six programmes viz. Solar Applications for Agricultural Use, Affordable Finance at Scale, Mini Grids, and Solar Rooftops and Solar E-mobility & Storage and Large-Scale Solar Parks.

5. Saturated foods

Subject: Science and tech

Context:

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has published the Food Safety and Standards (Safe food and balanced diets for children in school) Regulations, 2020 to ensure the availability of safe and balanced diets for school children.
It mentioned that on marketing foods to children in school premises or campus, the FBOs shall only offer premiums and incentives such as toys, trading cards, apparel, club memberships, contests, reduced-price specials, or coupons with foods, meals, which is not high in saturated fat or trans-fat or added sugar or sodium

Concept:

Saturated fatty acids lack double bonds between the individual carbon atoms, while in unsaturated fatty acids there is at least one double bond in the fatty acid chain.
Saturated fats tend to be solid at room temperature and from animal sources, while unsaturated fats are usually liquid and from plant sources.
Saturated fats may increase levels of low-density lipoprotein or LDL, or “bad” cholesterol. Elevated LDL cholesterol in the blood may increase a person’s risk of heart disease.

6. Airsuvidha

Subject: Initiative

Context:

Delhi Airport makes International Arriving process easy by developing a contact-less solution in collaboration with Ministry of Civil Aviation for all passengers coming to India.

Concept:

Air Suvidha is touted as a contactless solution for international passengers travelling to India.
It comprises two forms a self-declaration form where passengers fill in basic details and information about recent travel history, and an exemption form that, if approved, will exempt the passenger from institutional quarantine.
All international passengers need to fill in the self-declaration forms on the portal.
Previously, it would be filled at the airport prior to departure. This step was taken to do away with the unnecessary physical contact.

7. Critical wildlife habitats

Subject: Environment

Context:

The process of notifying critical wildlife habitats (CWH) in Maharashtra contained several violations of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, found a report released by the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)

Concept:

CWH is a provision under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA).
The Act primarily focuses on recognising the historically-denied rights of forest-dwellers to use and manage forests.
FRA defines CWHs as ‘areas of national parks and sanctuaries where it has been specifically and clearly established, case by case, on the basis of scientific and objective criteria, that such areas are required to be kept as inviolate for the purposes of wildlife conservation
The power to notify the rules to designate a CWH rests with Ministry of Environment and Forests. The State Government are needed to initiate the process for notification of a critical wildlife habitat by submitting an application on a case by case basis, to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, which is the nodal agency under the said Act. Critical Wildlife Habitats are thus, declared by Central Government.

8. Typhoon Haishen

Subject: Geography

Context:

Typhoon Haishen made landfall over southern Japan becoming the country’s second landfalling typhoon within a week.

Concept:

The typhoon is categorised as a Category 4 storm which means well-built framed houses can suffer severe damage with loss of most of the roof structure and exterior walls.
Multiple typhoons hit Japan every year and typically, typhoon season is expected to last till November.
The damage associated with strong typhoons include wind damage, water damage, high tide damage and wave damage.
Depending on where they occur, hurricanes may be called typhoons or cyclones. The scientific name for all these kinds of storms is tropical cyclones.
The tropical cyclones that form over the Atlantic Ocean or the eastern Pacific Ocean are called hurricanes and the ones that form in the Northwest Pacific are called typhoons. Tropical storms that form in the Bay of Bengal or the Arabian Sea are called cyclones.

9. Vaccine

Subject: Science and tech

Context:

There have been several announcements of companies either entering into agreements to make Covid-19 vaccines or announcing human clinical trials for their candidates in India in the last few months.

Concept:

Covishield by University of Oxford-AstraZeneca

This vaccine works on a mechanism that uses a weakened and non-replicating version of a common cold virus that infects chimpanzees to carry a code that will tell cells to build just the spiky outer layer of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (the spike protein).
The body’s immune system is expected to recognise this as a threat and develop antibodies to fight the spike protein so that it will be ready in case the real virus tries to infect it.

ZyCov-D by ZydusCadila

It uses a genetically engineered DNA molecule coded with the DNA sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, against which the immune response is expected to be developed.

Covaxin by Bharat Biotech

It aims to use dead virus, which is not expected to have the potential to infect or replicate in those injected with it, to induce an immune response by the body.

RBD protein vaccine by Baylor College of Medicine-Biological E:

This is a recombinant protein vaccine candidate developed using the same traditional technique used to make vaccines against Hepatitis B.

HGC019 by Gennova Biopharmaceuticals-HDT Bio

This candidate belongs to a newer category called ‘mRNA’ vaccines, which make use of the messenger RNA molecules that tell cells what proteins to build.
The mRNA, in this case, is coded to tell the cells to recreate the Covid-19 spike protein–the spikes found on the surface of the SARS-Cov-2 virus. Once injected into the body, the cells will use the mRNA’s instructions, creating copies of the spike protein, which is in return expected to prompt the immune cells to create antibodies to fight it.

10. IPO

Subject: Economy

Context:

The government is likely to amend the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) Act, 1956 to facilitate the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the country’s largest life insurer LIC.

Concept:

The amendment in the LIC Act is required to achieve at least three objectives — to list as a corporation and not as a company, expansion of paid up capital and continuation of sovereign guarantee to shareholders.
Once listed, an entity is required to have at least 25 per cent of public shareholding — shares owned by those other than promoters and include institutions and individuals after three years.
The Budget documents show the government has set a disinvestment target of ₹1-lakh crore, of which ₹90,000 crore would come from the sale of IDBI Bank and LIC stake.

IPO:

An IPO stands for initial public offering.
It is when a company initially offers shares of stocks to the public.
It’s also called “going public.”
An IPO is the first time the owners of the company give up part of their ownership to stockholders. Before that, the company is privately-owned.